Coercion
by Sailor Grape
Summary: Holiday fic! He didn't want to attend Duo's Xmas party but was persuaded by the promise that SHE would be there. Now the only problem is how to get her away from the braided idiot...


Title: Coercion 

Author: GrapeSmshr

Rated: K+

Coupling: Haha, figure it out

Disclaimer: Insert reality here.

Posted on: December 27, 2006

A/N: I have been working on this fic for a month now, and I finally finished it last night! Yay! I just haaaaad to write a little holiday ditty for you guys. Cause frankly, this category needs a swift kick in the pants to get it going again. Sad, very sad. Anyway, read on and enjoy!

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"No way!"

With a more than slightly pathetic puppy dog face, Duo Maxwell decided to change tactics. "Oh, come on. Quatre's girlfriend is going to be there. And she'll be bringing her friends…" He slyly nudged his ornery friend, quickly pulling away at the murderous scowl aimed in his direction. "You can't say no." He inwardly grinned in triumph as the scowl softened just a bit.

"I suppose I'll be dragged to this insane gathering regardless," he grudgingly relented, regretting his words as the other man's grin practically split his face.

"Good decision, my man!" Duo clapped him on the shoulder and dashed away before giving him a chance to change his mind.

This was going to be fun, indeed. The plan was set into motion. He knew the stubborn fool would not do anything unless provoked. And he was about to raise the bar so high that the other man wouldn't know what hit him.

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He had known this was a horrible idea from the start, and he would swear up and down to anyone that he had said so. The last time Duo has thrown a "little" soiree, more people ended up intoxicated and passed out on the floor than were left standing. And then the braided idiot has the _audacity_ to appoint _him_ to make all of the intoxicated carpet dwellers go home! The entire incidence consisted of him pointing his gun at the stragglers and ordering them to leave if they valued their pathetic lives.

Needless to say, it was quite effective.

And now it looked to be a repeat of the same situation. He stood off to the side, away from the pulsing beat from the speakers and the laughing and screaming party-goers. He hated crowds, and he hated people even more. The only reason he was here was because of _her._ And she was currently not even present. With an impatient sigh, he continued his scan of the area for any sign of the exuberant blonde.

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"Excuse me… Pardon me…" he mumbled repeatedly while trying to make his way across the room. There were just too many bodies here for him feel comfortable. No matter how many of these parties he attended, it never eased the fact that he was a loner and virtually shunned the company of others, even his close friends at times. Why, oh why had he agreed to this, anyway?

Ah, right, because Duo had a plan. That alone was cause for concern. But with the others there, at least some form of supervision was provided if need be. If nothing else, they all knew he would provide free entertainment with whatever scheme he had concocted.

Settling down at an unoccupied table, he closed his eyes and tried to will his head to stop pounding. Alas, no such luck. With a heavy sigh, he braced himself for what would inevitably turn into a long night.

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Seeing the animated brunette scanning the crowd from across the dance floor, he quickly ducked behind a large group of chattering people. Copious amounts of guilt welled up inside of him as he hid from his girlfriend. He couldn't help it; he needed a break from all of the dancing! Daring to peek around the people cloaking him, he saw that she was enthusiastically boogying down with Duo. He heaved a sigh of relief at being saved by his party-throwing friend.

Glancing around, he spotted one of his friends sitting alone in the corner. He carefully made his way over to the table and collapsed into a chair, throwing a tired smile at the other man and gaining a nod in return.

They sat quietly together, happy to be in the presence of someone who was friendly but required no actual conversation to keep such an atmosphere.

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He had spent the entire night with a perpetual scowl aimed at anyone who even remotely looked like they were about to approach him. When he wasn't scowling, he was following her every move as she made her way from group to group, greeting practically everyone, in his opinion. She had arrived an hour ago with her group of yapping friends who seemed to be permanently attached to her.

Currently she was laughing with Duo and her friend Ami. It was the least amount of people she had kept in her company all night. She looked radiant, as usual, and he just wanted to clock Duo for the leer he was aiming in her direction.

He was partially insulted and partially relieved that she hadn't made her way over to him yet, after seeing her greet the other four guys. He didn't know what he would say to her, anyway. She never seemed to mind that, though. She would talk to him forever and not be bothered by the fact that he was not inclined to be verbally responsive.

That was one of the reasons he tolerated her presence. All right, he more than just tolerated her presence, which was saying a lot since he hated people as a general rule. But he most definitely didn't hate _her_. No, far from it.

Which was why red was clouding his vision as he watched Ami scamper away, giving Duo the opportunity to wrap an arm around the blonde's shoulders. He saw her laugh as she leaned in close to tell him something, causing Duo to smirk and nod vigorously.

Snorting in disgust and anger--and jealousy, if he wanted to admit to himself, which he didn't--he curbed the urge to rip Duo's arms from his body and start beating the cocky man with them. The thought alone caused a deliciously evil smile to briefly cross his features before once again being replaced with his customary irritated expression.

As a peal of familiar laughter reached his ears, he put his full attention back on the two. It seemed Duo had somehow sneakily maneuvered them underneath a sprig of mistletoe dangling from the ceiling. Duo kept pointing up at it and saying something that made her giggle and shake her head in response.

After a few moments of this, she looked to have given up on the argument and resigned herself to Duo's hair-brained antics. He knew exactly where this was leading, and he certainly wasn't going to sit idly by and watch it happen. For the first time in his life, he decided to let his emotions guide his actions.

With a look of fierce determination, he started across the room, weaving through and around the massive, unrelenting crowd. He ignored Trowa and Quatre, who were watching his every move from a table in the corner. He ignored Hiiro, whom he saw locked in a passionate embrace with none other than Ririna Peacecraft in the middle of the dance floor. He pushed through the people and over to the two just in time to see Duo lean in.

"Hey!" Duo cried, startled, as a firm grip on his shoulder roughly jerked him back. He scowled at his captor. "What the hell?"

"Get lost."

Duo wasn't going to argue. As he turned to walk away he threw a wink over his shoulder at the blonde.

"Well hey there, stranger, haven't seen you all night," she greeted him with a smile.

"Yeah, well," he muttered, wanting the floor to open up and swallow him whole. He had fulfilled his mission of getting Duo the hell away from her; now what was he supposed to do?

"I know, I know, too many people for you." She laughed good-naturedly. Then she paused, seemingly contemplating something.

"Hey!" he cried as two arms wrapped tightly around him and pulled his body close. "Usagi?"

She leaned in and whispered in his ear, "It's tradition, Wufei. Mistletoe." Then she seized his lips in a wonderfully explosive embrace, clearing up any confusion that he might have had about her reciprocating his feelings. At his enthusiastic return, she grinned into the kiss and held onto him all the more tightly.

Wufei couldn't say he was expecting her response, but he definitely wasn't going to argue. It would have been difficult to argue with his mouth currently occupied as it was, anyway.

Pulling away ever so slightly, Usagi murmured, "It's about time. I've only been throwing hints at you forever. Good thing Duo's plan worked."

"Duo's plan?" He whirled around and spotted the aforementioned man grinning and winking idiotically at them, giving them a thumbs-up sign. "I guess this time I can forgive him for meddling."

"Wise decision." She laced her hands through his and squeezed them together. "Want to get out of here? Go take a walk somewhere that the ground isn't shaking?"

He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her soundly. "What do you think?"

As they left the dance floor hand in hand, he suddenly remembered what he had seen earlier. He paused and exclaimed, "Wait--Hiiro and Ririna?!?"

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Hahahaha, I just had to throw that back in there! Anyone who has talked to me before knows that I'm a Ririna fan, so if you're not... well… keep it to yourself, please.

So what did ya think? I hope I created a little holiday cheer for anyone who needed it. Was everyone confused by which guy belonged to which pov? If you were, that was the point! I tried being ambiguous while giving hints as well. I didn't bother with Duo because he was a key chara throughout the entire thing. Plus, who wouldn't have been able to figure out his pov? He's the only happy-go-lucky one in the bunch!

Anyway, thank you bunches for reading. I still love you guys to pieces, even though I don't chat with nearly enough of you. Happy holidays, and here's to a fic-filled 2007!


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